Sustainable forest management in Central America

Deforestation creates a major problem for wildlife: the forest becomes fragmented. As clearings get bigger the wildlife is restricted to isolated fragments o forest that are separated by farm land. The animals become trapped in islands of forest surrounded by an ocean of farm land.The governments of Central America (also know as Mesoamerica) are co-operating with each other in an ambitious conservation project. They want to create a continuous wildlife corridor through the length of Central America. The corridors will be created by planting strips of forest to connect the remaining fragment of forest together. The project is called the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor and involves all seven governments of Central America, plus Mexico.

Debt-for-nature swap

Mesoamerica is a biodiversity hotspot. It only amounts to 1% of the world's land surface, but it is estimated to contain 7% of the world's terrestrial (land-based) species. Western governments are encouraging conservation in this region by offering debt-for-nature swaps. Under these arrangements, the Central American governments agree to spend money conserving ecosystems and wildlife. In return, the Western governments agree to reduce the amount of money that is owned to them. One debt-for-nature swap was made between Costa Rica and the USA. In 2007 Costa Rica agreed to spend $26 million on conservation projects. In exchange, the US government and two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) agreed to buy back a similar amount of Costa Rica's debt.

Ecotourism in Costa Rica

The government and businesses in Costa Rica have also encouraged the growth of ecotourism. These are small-scale tourist projects that create money for conservation as well as creating local jobs. It is estimated that 70% of Costa Rica;' tourists visit the protected environments. In 2000 Costa Rica earned $1.25 billion from ecotourism. One successful example is the creation of a canopy walkway through a small, privately owned part of the Monteverde reserve. Tourists are charged $45 to climb up into the canopy and walk along a rope bridge, the longest of which is 300m long.